Psychodynamic Approach Flashcards
Who is associated with the psychodynamic approach?
Sigmund Freud
Name the three assumptions of the psychodynamic approach
Influence of childhood experiences
The unconcious mind
Tripartite personality
Summarise the assumption ‘influence of childhood experiences’
Experiences during childhood shape our personality, psychological development takes place in 5 developmental stages; psychosexual stages. Each stage represents the fixation of libido on a different area of the body, which can affect personality in adulthood. Fixation occurs through frustration (needs of the stage have not been met, under-satisfaction) and overindulgence (needs have been more than satisfied, child feels reluctant to move to the next stage).
Explain the oral psychosexual stage (age, origin of libido, key events, outcome of fixation)
0-18 months; focus on the mouth (sucking, chewing); key events are breastfeeding, weaning onto solid food; frustration = pessimism, envy, sarcasm; overindulgence = optimism, neediness, gullibility.
Explain the anal psychosexual stage (age, origin of libido, key events, outcome of fixation)
1.5-3 years; focus on the anus (withholding, expelling faeces); key events are potty training; frustration = stubborn, possessive, overly tidy; overindulgence = messy, disorganised, reckless.
Explain the phallic psychosexual stage (age, origin of libido, key events, outcome of fixation)
3-5 years; focus on the genitals (masturbation); key events are the the Oedipus complex leading to superego and gender identity; fixation = self-assured, vain, problems with sexuality, maintaining relationships in adulthood.
explain the latency psychosexual stage (age, origin of libido, key events, outcome of fixation)
5 years-puberty; no focus (little to no sexual motivation); key events are acquiring knowledge and understanding of the world; no fixation.
Explain the genital psychosexual stage (age, origin of libido, key events, outcome of fixation)
Puberty onwards; focus on the genitals (intercourse); no key events; well developed personality, well adjusted.
Summarise the assumption ‘the unconscious mind’
The mind is like an iceberg - what goes on inside the mind lies under the surface. The conscious mind is logical, the unconscious mind is not and is ruled by pleasure seeking. It cannot be directly accessed, and expresses itself indirectly through dreams. Freud believed it determines much of our behaviour and that we are motivated by it. It contains unresolved conflicts that affect behaviour, and many of these conflicts show up in our fantasies and dreams.
Explain ego defence mechanisms.
EDMs are strategies used by the ego to defend itself against anxiety.
Repression = blocking thoughts, memories or impulses from the conscious mind.
Regression = reverting to behaviours typical of gratification in an earlier stage.
Displacement = transfer of impulses from one object to a substitute object.
Rationalisation = explaining behaviour by offering an acceptable reason instead of the true reason.
Projection = undesirable thoughts are attributed to someone else.
Summarise the assumption ‘tripartite personality’.
Adult personality is divided into 3 parts that develop at different stages of life. The id, the ego, and the superego. Id and superego often conflict, and ego acts as a referee to resolve the conflict (the middle ground of angel and devil).
Explain the id, ego, and superego.
Id = impulsive and unconscious part of our personality; present at birth; demands immediate satisfaction and referred to as the ‘pleasure principle’; the aim of the id is to gain pleasure and gratification at any cost.
Ego = the conscious, rational part; develops around age 2; works out realistic ways of balancing the demands of the id in an acceptable way; called the ‘reality principle’.
Superego = the sense of right and wrong (morals); develops around age 4; seeks to perfect and civilise our behaviour; develops through identification with parents and others.
Explain relationship formation through childhood experiences
Fixation in psychosexual stages could affect relationships in later life. Overindulgence in oral stage could result in unhealthy dependency on others later in life - too ‘needy’ in a relationship.
Fixation at the phallic stage could result in an adult who is not capable of loving another person and entering a relationship.
If the Oedipus complex is not resolved, Freud believes it could lead to homosexuality.
Explain relationship formation through defence mechanisms.
Forming relationships may bring up unpleasant emotions from the past, resulting in people using EDMs to avoid anxiety. EDMs will affect our relationships, e.g someone in denial of their sexuality might try to form relationships not in lone with their true feelings, resulting in it being dysfunctional and eventually breaking down.
E.g 2. Those who are dishonest in a relationship may deal with guilt through rationalisation - ‘they deserve it as they dont pay me attention!’.
Explain the formation of parent-child relationships
Bowlby (44 juvenile thieves) formed the view that early unhealthy experiences shaped the behaviour of some children. E.g some of his juvenile thieves formed affectionless characters. Bowlby developed the maternal deprivation hypothesis, where the ability to form meaningful social relationships in adulthood was dependent on a close, warm and continuous relationship with the mother figure in the first few years of one’s life. Since this relationship is the prototype to all future relationships, disruption would impair the person’s ability to relate to others.
